Kasballica
“I know about the Arbites. Know very well. I know how far back their rule goes. I know when the first Precincts were founded here. I know it because my own predecessors were already here and watched them land, look around at the new sunlight, and measure the ground for their fortresses. The Kasballica has been in Calixis for longer than they have. Let’s not demean ourselves by fearing them.” -Yenga Kwill, Princess of the Landunder Kasballica The Kasballica has existed in the Calixis Sector ever since there has been a Calixis Sector to exist in (and arguably before, with its foundations being laid down in the settler ships en route from Ixaniad). Barely a world in the sector is without its Kasballican prince or princess, with its own hierarchy, outposts, and secret channels through which its collectors and enforcers roam. The Kasballica conduct themselves as honest businessmen and nobility at all times. They operate their less reputable ventures through middle men, keeping their hands as clean as possible. It is a common saying that the Kasballica "Takes Care of Their Own." While this is certainly a promise to protect and support each other, it is also a threat. If an operative draws too much attention to himself, it is far easier to execute him and let the Enforcers deal with the body. More than one Kasballica operative has let his guard down when a Malifixer comes to "take care of it." On many Calixian worlds the Kasballica's operations merit barely more than a slender dossier in the Detectives' bureau stacks, worlds where their ambitions are devoted to nothing more than coordinating a shadow industry of tiny crimes whose aggregate wealth flows upward through Kasballica patrons into the prince's coffers. As long as they restrict themselves to mundane squabbles with the planetary authorities, such networks are ignored, except when an enterprising Detective-Espionist might cultivate them for informants. At a number of hotspots throughout the sector, however, Kasballica operations have grown big and assertive enough to push into Arbites territory, infringing on the operation of the Imperium in ways that cannot be ignored. Out toward the rimward stars the increasingly brazen piratical enterprises coordinated by the Kasballica of the Periphery have stretched the Precinct Fleet thinner and thinner still. The princes of Merov, Lo, and Grove's Fall have been collaborating on a ramshackle but vicious fleet of their own, terrorizing trade coming back from Port Wander and specifically targeting vessels that have crossed the Kasballican Mission on Footfall. Some of the fleet is run directly by the princes, some of it is made up of hapless traders who could not repay Kasballican backing for their own ventures in the Koronus Expanse and have had their choice laid out for them---the risks of turning corsair themselves to work off their debt, or the certainty of Kasballica retribution. Lord Marshal Goreman and Marshal-Commodore Mhal would dearly like to strike out directly at the mission on Footfall but have not yet been able to muster the resources away from the rest of the sector. Along the spinward border a multi-directional war between several Kasballican princes has escalated well past the usual petty exchanges of crude assassinations and small-scale sabotage and grown to the stage where stable Imperial governance is being disrupted and orderly tithe collections threatened. The crash of the Hexenwide, an in-system barge loaded with radioactive fuel whose disintegration in the lower atmosphere of Sozomen's Last Stand irradiated hundreds of thousands of hectares of plantation-land, has been firmly linked to the opening of hostilities by Ghonan Dyexx, the prince of Bront. The reprisal raid, a showy affair that rampaged through Bront's upper capitol hive, was designed more to stir up savage riots and laborers' insurrections, and was eminently successful, paralyzing the hive for a month and badly damaging Dyexx's personal holdings. Since then the princes of ND0/K4, Cantus, and Mosul have all joined in the war in similarly spectacular fashion. Given their preferences, the Vanguard High Precinct command would tell the planetary governors to grit their teeth, tighten their belts, and wear the trouble while the Kasballica thinned out each others' numbers and forced each other into the open, ready for a mop-up, but the chorus of complaint from the governors and the Administratum has goaded Goreman into demanding a quick and permanent end to this, and so Arbitrator contingents are being drawn from all over the High Precinct to come down on the Kasballica with overwhelming force. To trailing, at Haddrack, Detectives are carefully infiltrating the Governor's court and the Departmento Munitorium to try and track Kasballica efforts to manipulate the Imperial Guard tithe for the nearby warzone at Protasia. Princess Ignetta has involved herself on two fronts---using none-too-subtle bribery and coercion on the planetary authorities so that the human tithe falls heavily on the planet's two major northern continents, while her own main power base across the three southern continents remains strong, and ensuring that a number of Kasballica agents personally loyal to her are shoehorned into command positions in the Guard tithe. Ambitious and optimistic, she is looking forward to the day when the Haddracki regiments take Protasia and claim it, and the new settlers will be led by her own catspaws and established as a Kasballica fief subject to her control. The Arbites have not yet tarnished that optimism by launching into righteous prosecution against such a shameless crime against the Adeptus, but the case against her is almost complete and the day of reckoning is not far off. 'Unique Equipment' Pinner Scintilla’s Arbites make extensive use of magnetic latches and holsters to carry their gear and secure prisoners. To help foil their operations, certain factions of the Kasballica have invested in devices called pinners. These coil-generators emit a charged fluctuating mag-field. Though it does not magnetically charge items itself, it greatly amplifies the power of existing magnets. Once activated, the device affects all magnetic devices within 30 meters for 2d10 Rounds, supercharging them. Any attempt to separate the magnet from the surface they are attached to requires a Hellish (–60) Strength Test. Good and Best Craftsmanship versions increase the radius by 5 meters and 10 meters, respectively. Poor Craftsmanship versions decrease the radius by 10 meters. Cost 2,000, WT 5kg, Near Unique 'Background Package' Career: Adept or Scum Cost: 300 XP Requirements: Hive or Imperial Home World The crime barons of the Drusus Marches have agents across the Calixis Sector and even within the Koronus Expanse. The sheer audacity with which many of these men conduct "business" can rocket the unscrupulous to positions of power well above their station. These "Low Dukes" (as they are mockingly called in Hive Tarsus) are often considered little more than con men and crooks whose influence allows them to rub elbows with more proper nobles. When this occurs, the Kasballica leadership will often attempt to reign their operatives in, as their actions can disrupt proper business and draw unwanted attention. The Kasballica will cut ties, forcing their agent to operate independently. Rarely, a clever "Noble" will find ways to protect himself, maintaining his position and rising to power on his own. More commonly, they are brought up on charges, and only the intervention of a Judge or Inquisitor will save them from a bullet in the brain-pan. This combination of savvy, ambition, and an ability to deal with other cultures without "going native" has drawn the eye of several Calixian Ordo Xenos Inquisitors, most notably Inquisitor Vilane. His missions into the Jericho Reach have brought him in contact with the Tau, and it is this rare blend of resourcefulness and an air of stolen authority that make his Kasballica "Nobles" so useful. Most often pressed into service by the Inquisition as part of a sentence for crimes (often crimes for which they are innocent), many ex-Kasballica agents dislike the Acolyte lifestyle, and strive hard to improve their own comfort while on assignment. This "questionable" loyalty can lead to strife in the cell, but thus far, the results have been worth it. Effects: Apply all of the following to the character: Skills: The Character gains Blather as a Trained Skill. Do You Know Who I Am?: The Kasballica "Noble" imposes a -10 penalty to any Intimidate Tests that include him as a target. Shady Income: In addition to his normal Income, the Kasballica "Noble" generates additional income each month using the following chart (like a Scum): *Kasballica "Noble" Income *D10 Result Earnings *1 Grift 1d10 + 10 *2-3 "Honest" Trade 2d10 + FB *4-5 Embezzlement 2d10 x IB *6-7 Extortion 2d10 x SB *8-9 Short Con 2d10 x FB *10 Long Con 4d10 x FB